Tag Archives: Drugs

I Never Asked You To Understand Me By Barthe DeClements

Stacy didn’t look like a reject, and I didn’t think I did either. We were just having too hard a time… I have reviewed a number of Barthe DeClements’s books over the past few years, starting with the not-quite-Lost Classic … Continue reading

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Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! By M.E. Kerr

Dinky isn’t addicted to heroin, but she does have a big problem… I hadn’t looked at the calendar when I planned this one, so I hope you’re ready for a big Valentine bummer, Constant Readers! Background: “M.E. Kerr” is one of … Continue reading

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Fast Times At Ridgemont High: A True Story By Cameron Crowe

These kids are, uh, the future of America. Back to school! Slightly late, both in that it is the end of September and that Cameron Crowe is doing it uncover at the age of 22. Like Lyn Tornabene before him, … Continue reading

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Sweet Valley High Super Edition: Special Christmas By Francine Pascal

It seems that nothing can spoil Jessica and Elizabeth’s holiday- until Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield announce the arrival of an unwelcome houseguest… Background: Sweet Valley High remains one of the most enduring series of its era, leading to numerous spin-off dealing with … Continue reading

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Keeping Score By Marilyn Levy

What’s worse: that your boyfriend is interested in your sister, or that he’s dealing drugs out of his locker? This book may have the honor of “cover copy least-related to actual plot” in recent memory: far from dealing with just … Continue reading

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The Dead Man In Indian Creek By Mary Downing Hahn

Nobody takes their story seriously. Nobody, that is, except the killer. And he takes them very seriously… Another example of how YA lit makes real-life seem like such a let-down: reading this book along with Stephen King’s The Body and … Continue reading

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Jay’s Journal By Anonymous

Helplessly fascinated, he plunged into a world of Ouija boards and witchcraft, animal sacrifices and Satanism… into a black abyss from which there seemed no escape. Man, some days you just hit the jackpot when it comes to the Teen … Continue reading

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The Lonely Trip Back By Florrie Fisher

If you’ve ever wondered what life on the needle is like, ask a white, middle-class, middle-aged lady named Florrie Fisher- she’ll tell you more than you’re prepared to know! Florrie Fisher’s The Lonely Trip Back graphically details a case of … Continue reading

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Debbie By John Benton

An exciting new habit carried an unexpected price tag! Contemporary YA fiction dealing with social problems (delinquency, prostitution, drugs, etc.) kind of wusses out when it comes to depicting the lurid details. There is a reason why the patently fake … Continue reading

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Just Dial A Number By Edith Maxwell

An Annoying Autobiographical Pause: The summer I was 12 I decided to keep a log of all of the books I read for an entire year, with the goal of reading 100 or more by the following summer. I was … Continue reading

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